9pm Q&A – THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE

Thursday, March 7 at 9pm

Q&A - THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE
Thursday, March 7 at 9pm
Paramount Theatre

Tania Halik, the mother of the mother/ daughter duo that are the subjects of this film will be in attendance for a Q&A along with friend of the festival, Rudy Buttignol, CEO of Knowledge, who were sponsors of the film. Find out from the source how cold things really got.

Tania Halik Biography
Born in the Czech Republic in 1956 and growing up under the Russian communist occupation Tania found respite from the oppression in the outdoors; rock climbing iconic Czech sandstone towers, competing at the national level nordic skiing, trail running and kayaking. She dreamed of joining what was then Czechoslovakia’s Mountain Rescue Service the Horska Sluzba. She was unfortunately a couple decades ahead of her time as they refused to accept women into the service at that time. Together with her husband, while two months pregnant, they hatched a daring escape by foot from behind the Russian communist controlled Iron Curtain. Their plan worked, (although the hair raising adversity they encountered along the way is a story in itself), and they were able to start a new and unoppressed life and family in the free democratic country of Switzerland. Two years later they came to British Columbia and never looked back. Now after 28 years in Canada; after years ski patrolling, avalanche forecasting, and paramedic work, training 3 avalanche rescue dogs and raising two daughters, she is ready for her biggest challenge yet. A lifetime of skiing, canoeing, mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking and all-round adventuring in the mountains has worked to steer her to this first step across the Coast Mountains.
Rudy Buttignol Biography
Rudy Buttignol is the President and CEO of British Columbia’s Knowledge Network Corporation, and President of BBC Kids, a national channel operated as a joint venture with BBC Worldwide.

Buttignol was born in Pordenone Italy, and immigrated to Canada at the age of four via Pier 21 in Halifax. Buttignol attended York University in the Faculty of Fine Arts. Throughout his forty year career, he has been an independent producer, director, writer and editor of documentary and children’s programs, commissioning editor, television programmer, and broadcast executive. Known as the “Canadian broadcasting and documentary guru” and “friend of the auteur in Canada and abroad”, Buttignol has been an active participant in the development of Canadian cultural policy, as well as the advancement of the funding and broadcasting of documentary film.